


A Matter of Heart and Hope

by Laurasauras



Series: AO3 Anniversary Flash Fiction [19]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Dream Bubbles, Fluff, M/M, Ocean, fanfic giveaway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-09-01
Packaged: 2019-07-05 15:08:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15866124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laurasauras/pseuds/Laurasauras
Summary: Dirk and Eridan meet in a dream bubble. Fluff happens.





	A Matter of Heart and Hope

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dragoneisha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragoneisha/gifts).



> [dragonwishes ](http://dragonwishes.tumblr.com/) asked:
> 
> claps!!! u shoudl write nervous Eridirk!!

You're the only ones on the damn beach, you have no idea why you're being so coy. Except that you have zero experience with actual in person boys and he's ... super cute. Well, he looks like a dickhead. But that kind of works for you. It, uh ... really works for you. 

He's all cheekbones and oh, those thighs and just the very front of his hair is dyed purple. And he's like, 15 feet away from you.  _Why can't you talk to him?_

He's clearly peeking at you as well. There's nothing else to look at except the ocean, which is admittedly very pretty. It isn't from your memory. You lived in the middle of the ocean, far away from anything resembling sand. Actually, that's not a bad opener.

'Is this your memory?' you ask.

He turns to face you. God you have a soft spot for hipster glasses. 

'Yeah,' he says. 'I spent a lot a time on top a the water when I was alive.'

He trips over the w's and the v just a little bit. You think about sliding close to him and then suddenly the dream bubble shifts and you're only about two feet away from him. Cool. You're not sure you'll ever get used to that.

'Me too,' you say. 

He meets your eyes and then looks away again.

'I'm Eridan,' he says. 

'Dirk.'

'You wanna see if we can swim in this fucked up afterlife?' he says.

'Yeah,' you say. You look at him a bit closer. 'Uh, you know I can't breathe underwater, right?'

His hand flies up to his gills self-consciously. 

'Maybe if you believe you can, you'll be able to,' he says. 

You hadn't thought of that. It makes sense though. You don't know if you can turn off your impulse to not swallow water. You spent too much time diving in the ocean to take drowning lightly.

He stands up and drops his scarf and jumper to the ground. He looks at you. 

You stop staring and force yourself to move, taking off your shoes and socks and shirt. You glance at him nervously before taking off your jeans. You're not shy enough to justify swimming in denim. 

He takes off his shirt as well, but leaves his pants and then smiles at you tentatively before running into the surf. 

You follow him at a more moderate pace. You've never experienced a land wave before. The tide feels  _intense_  around your ankles, but it's addictive too, luring you deeper into the water. You're barely to your knees when he's already diving under a wave with perfect form. You watch the alien muscles under his shoulders shift with fascination. 

You follow with more determination, turning to your side and freezing for a moment when waves crash onto your body before moving again. You haven't noticed any water getting in your mouth but you taste salt very strongly. It's cold as fuck against your skin, but that's kind of exhilarating too. 

He dives under another wave and doesn't come back up. You take a deep breath and force yourself to focus on yourself. You're a good swimmer. You'd probably be more comfortable if the water was deeper. The texture of the sand beneath your toes is disconcerting but satisfying. You force yourself deeper, having to fight the waves now that you're waist deep, until you feel confident in diving under yourself.

You almost gasp water into your lungs when you see what's below the waves. Even though you could easily touch the sand when you were standing, you're now in the middle of the ocean, looking at what has to be a new dream bubble. 

It's an underwater city made entirely of gold. In front of you, Eridan is floating, staring at the city. You swim up to him and pat him on the arm.

He turns to look at you, baring razor sharp teeth.

You pat your neck, where his gills are. He puts his teeth away and frowns. He opens his mouth and bubbles rush out as he makes noise that you can't understand. You're not willing to use up your air seeing if he can understand you. Already your lungs are beginning to protest.

He bites his lip and frowns at you anxiously. 

You let a small breath loose, as if that will help you.

His frown gets deeper, and then he's pulling you towards him by the neck and kissing you.

Except he's not kissing you, he's sealing your mouth to his. You breathe in his air and the panicky, dizzy feeling of oxygen deprivation starts to recede. You close your eyes and wrap your arms around him, trusting your life to a boy you don't even know. Well, your afterlife.

When you open your eyes again, you're on dry land and your body suddenly weighs so much more. You both drop to the ground in shock. He doesn't say anything while you cough and adjust to breathing again. After a long while, you wipe your mouth with the back of your hand and look at him. 

'Sorry about that,' he says. 'Didn't want to chance it if ghosts can die.'

You don't answer, you just grab his hand and tug it lightly. He looks at you with hope just before you pull him in for a real kiss.


End file.
